RPlog:Parley For Brandis - Part 3
The betrayal grew stronger and stronger with each passing moment. Through their harmonic link, the three Jedi knew, with equal clairvoyance, what was about to happen by the time Kreldin began to speak. Luke tips his head downward at the first sign of words from the Admiral's mouth, and with it, a device held secretly inside the stone on the Admiral's deck comes to life. The stone begins to glow again, only this time, the color begins as a glow of green. There's a quiet cracking sound that goes unnoticed as Danik speaks, and the very moment he orders his entourage to kill the Jedi, it happens. A beam of green energy cuts through the sitting edge of the stone, slices through Kreldin's desk, and allows a cylindrical device to fall through the circular opening it made. Luke's left hand rises, and the lightsaber is grappled by the Force, drawn into his outstretched hand. The blade slices cleanly through one of the desk's legs as he hurtles through the air, and once it's in Skywalker's hand, the other closes around it. He raises it in the traditional Soresu defensive posture. At this cue, the winged Chyleni pilot's wings flare out, and she pulls the bands of 'jewelry' from her wingtips. The ends are popped off in symmetry, and two more lightsabers are pitched underhand. One to Ai'kani, the other to Johanna. Johanna, who snatches the blade out of the air, ignites a white blade of contained energy and steps in front of Kyrin, raising it to block the attack of the Guardsman who had gone for the winged sentient. (Luke) As soon as the button is pressed, Estos's squad moves into high alert, having already geared up in preparation for an eventuality such as this one. It isn't often, after all, that so many high-risk targets are present aboard the ship, and the squad had been waiting should anything go wrong - as it surely has now. The Sergeant, Li'r Fabow, immediately activates his comlink, giving a single remark to his men. "Give them death!", he exclaims, and waves his blaster in the direction of Danik's office. ST-9042, Estos himself, fortunately does not take point, that being a role reserved to SHW-4408, the squad's heavy weapons specialist. Racing out of their ready room nearby, the squad clanks its way down the hallway toward Danik's office, fear and bloodlust both obscured by the uniform helmets and armored carapaces that adorn them all. (ST-9042) Three simple words, yet an order that not only would not go unanswered, but would be answered with swift efficiency. Captain Caiton moves into place alongside the squad of Stormtroopers rushing into the Admiral's office. As a captain in her own right, and the chief of medicine for the task squad, she is equally versed in repairing the body as she is in dealing death. While the Royal Guards move to immediately protect the Admiral and make up the vanguard of his defense force, Lynae hastens to maneuver herself into a secondary position as well. After all, there are never quite enough guards for the Admiral, in her opinion. Kyrin smiles, with the fire of battle lighting up her eyes. When Johanna blocks the guard heading her way, she doesn't sit back on her tail. Leaping up and over the Jedi protecting her, her wings half-sweep, enough to give her enough lift to get toward the desk. She grapples with Tibor, fighting for the blaster, since she clearly doesn't have any other weapons hidden about her person. "Give me that before you hurt someone..." "Sergeant Major..." One of the Stormtrooper Privates looks over to Sergeant Major Cantrell, leaning against the wall in one of the rooms not too far from the Grand Admiral's office. The Mandalorian's eyes narrow at the trooper, annoyed that he was interrupted from his quiet time. "We're a go, Sarge." The Trooper chimes again. Cantrell nods, placing his helmet over his head, the camouflaged armor in stark contrast of the white standard trooper armor. Fixing his shoulder pauldron, he nods, the grave, mechanical voice of the com-unit awakening. "Squad 1, you're with me." The Mandalorian growls, gesturing for his squad to follow in suit. "No mercy for the Jedi pig-dogs." He lets on more final growl before leading his squad down the hall, joining up with Estos' squad. (Cantrell) Ai'kani's saber hits her palm and ignites just a split second after Johanna's. Her attention is on Danik, but she knows it can't stay there. The white-haired Jedi turns toward the guard coming quickly upon her. A flash of burning teal sings into the air and the guard's Force Pike falls to the ground... with one hand still attached. Yup. She's Luke's student, all right. She wants to ask Luke just how they are going to get out, but her focus is on the pounding feet heading towards the office. Things are going to get ugly. Johanna's blade finds its mark; the white blade cuts the Force Pike in half, startling the Royal Guardsman. But only for a split second. Force Pikes were, more often than not, used for show. The Guardsman takes a few steps back to avoid another attack, and he quickly brandishes a vibro-blade attached to his utility belt. Knowing full well the capabilities of the lightsaber, the Guardsman keeps his distance, waiting for an opening. He knows reinforcements in the form of Stormtroopers are on their way - if he can only keep her distracted long enough for them to arrive, while staying alive. He'll do his best. The other Guardsman loses his pike to Ai'kani. He, however, is not as smart as his comrade; utilizing his vibro-blade, he lunges in towards Ai'kani, taking another swipe at the Jedi's head. Tibor, on the other hand, is busy fighting for control of his blaster pistol with Kyrin. "Filthy alien scum!" he shouts, tightening his grip on the pistol's handgrip. "Sethas, help me out!" he shouts to his comrade. Sethas looks from Tibor to Luke, and then back again, sweat dripping from his forehead. He's clearly at a difficult crossroads. "Ahhhh!" He runs behind the desk to Tibor's side, bringing his pistol to bear on Kyrin. "Get off him, rebel scum!" As for Danik. Well, Danik is acting his usual self when his plans are foiled. One moment he was sitting back in his throne, relishing in the capture of Luke Skywalker, Johanna Siri te Danaan, and Ai'kani, in addition to Brandis Finian. The next, a lightsaber is cutting his desk in half. Not waiting to see if his Stormtroopers are on their way, Kreldin quickly rises from his throne and steps over to the fireplace. He has a back exit installed, naturally, but whether or not he'll have time to utilize it is another matter entirely. "You're not getting off this ship, Skywalker!" he shouts, pressing down on a button built into the fireplace. (Danik) Sethas goes soaring as a sudden blast of invisible energy lashes out from Skywalker's left hand, which has left the hilt of his Jedi weapon and shot forward, palm facing outward. The guard, his eyes wide with shock, careens into a far wall, where the force of the blow drops him into a momentary lull before he loses consciousness. Hand back on the hilt of his blade, the Jedi narrows his eyes and leaves Danik Kreldin to the Fates, turning instead to face the front door as he senses the approach of more troops. He is the focal point of harmony between Ai'kani and Johanna. The song that is played out between them bathes them in light, casting the shadow of the dark side away in this area of the ship, and brings to them a certain one-ness. 'The door'. The simple instruction is shared between Johanna and Ai'kani as a mere glimpse of a thought. Luke grows connected to his lightsaber, performing a figure eight of sorts with the blade as he strides toward the doorway. Brandis is slumped over at the edge of the doorway, and Luke positions himself between the unconscious, tortured Jedi Doctor as he prepares to carve his way through whatever reinforcements are about to arrive. (Luke) As the squad reaches their destination, the doorway into a meat grinder of numerous lightsabers, more than one profanity is uttered beneath these masks, and again, Fabow clicks his com to life. "42, 83, 21, guard the rear; everybody else, 'bang and clear. Go!" In just a few short words, everything for Fabow's squad immediately takes a turn for the worse, as they must charge the very jaws of death itself. And no matter how organized a fashion you conduct such an operation in, it is a harrowing experience for all. "Oh Empire oh Empire oh Empire," Estos prays within the confines of his own helmet. Even as he says these words, the door to Danik's office is opened, and a cooked flash grenade is tossed into the room, detonating a second later. Even with the terrible clap that follows, ST-9042 hears the clanking of boots headed off toward what may well be their deaths, and his mind simply goes blank. Reaching to his utility belt, he unclips a gas grenade, and gently tosses it just outside the door, slowly but surely filling the air in the hallway outside with tear gas; and cover, should the squad have to pull back prematurely. (ST-9049) Without the protective armor that the Stormtroopers are wearing, Lynae is just one more uniform clad officer charging into the fray. It doesn't take years of intensive training to make one learn not to charge into the direct path of the weapons the Jedi are employing in defense of the doorway, and its with that reasoning that Lynae hangs back and lets the Stormtroopers do the job their trained to do, while she does what her instructions are in times like these: stay out from underfoot. She has her blaster drawn, held comfortably in her right hand, her left hand brushes against the wall as she braces to rush into the room as soon as the way is clear. She turns towards the wall at the last possible second, hunching her shoulders and ducking her head, the light from the grenade giving her a moment of whiteout vision, her ears ringing from the clap of sound. Johanna's hand lurches forward, with the same speed and efficiency of Skywalker's, and the second Royal Guardsman goes soaring back into a wall. This one, of course, retains his consciousness, but Johanna swiftly moves toward Kyrin, prepared to defend her from the incoming onslaught. "Cover your ears and close your eyes," she cries, sensing the impending danger from incoming grenades. (Luke) Dancers have balance. They have to. A Chyleni dancer has to have balance in all three dimensions. And with the right dance partner. Or even a Grand Admiral's aide whom she's struggling with, Kyrin is still a dancer. With a graceful move, she tries to spin Tibor so he's directly in Sethas' line of fire, using the spin as a means to try and push the one aide back into the other, perhaps hoping to filch a couple of blasters for her own use... But then Sethas goes flying... and Johanna shouts at her. Like a good little soldier, Kyrin promptly lets go of Tibor and curls up into a ball, eyes squinched shut, wings covering and muffling her from the effects of the grenade, hands over her delicate pointed ears. The sounds of lightsabers and scuffling can clearly be heard as Cantrell leads his squad closer to the office, kneeling down by the wall some good 20 feet from the office doors. He points to either side, instructing his men to kneel on opposite ends. The Mandalorian watches Squad 2, Estos' squad, move forward. "Squad 1, stand fast and ready." The Sergeant Major growls. "Provide Squad 2 with cover fire." And the wait begins, something Cantrell never has really liked. But he knows better than to rush into combat, especially against Jedi. Everything about Ai'kani is heightened. The Imperials present may understand three Jedi fighting together is dangerous. However, they do not understand that these three Jedi are all in direct connection with each other. In unison with Johanna and Luke, Ai'kani plugs her ears and shuts her eyes as a grenade is thrown and detonated. The walls are still shaking from it when she composes herself and rushes forward to the second Royal Guardsman. There is a quick moment of regret as she moves in dispose of the man. Snarling, Danik doesn't bother to cast another glance at the room, stepping through the hatch as it appears within the wall just mere seconds before the flash bang is thrown and detonated. The commander - at least, the Grand Admiral - doesn't usually stay behind in fights such as this. As a Sith apprentice, he would. If he had training - if he had a lightsaber. And not when he's up against three of the best Jedi in the galaxy. So, Danik's plan: escape to safe levels, and let the Stormtroopers take care of the Jedi. There are over 600,000 men aboard this vessel: they're not getting away. Smiling, confident in his victory, Danik closes the hatch behind him and proceeds through his escape route. Sethas, knocked into the wall and forced into unconsciousness, leaves poor Tibor to deal with Kyrin and Johanna by himself. At least he has control of his blaster again. As he stands up and levels his pistol on Kyrin, ready to press back on the trigger, the flash bang detonates, dropping Tibor instantly and blinding and deafening him. The two Royal Guardsmen would be more lucky, due to their armor, if it were not for the fact that one is Force pushed into a wall, and the other is put down by Ai'kani's blade. Kreldin's once pristine office is now a mess, but the damage is irrelevant to the reward at the end of the fight. Klaxons begin roaring throughout the Malevolence, putting all hands on immediate alert: already more Stormtroopers and other personnel are on their way, ready to stop the Jedi intruders. (Danik) The three Stormtroopers who had brought Brandis in originally begin unleashing barrages of rifle fire upon Skywalker. With two swooping arcs of his blade, the blasts are repelled straight back into each Stormtrooper's chest, and a simple advance cuts the Stormtroopers into two pieces each, with a graceful arc of deadly energy that roars with the movement. The flash bomb goes off, and through the Force, Luke draws a protective bubble around his face, unlike the other two Jedi who are forced to block their eyes and ears. That leaves only the Royal Guardsman and Tibor, as far as those inside the room... but the others are upon the doorway. Luke spreads his legs apart and prepares for the next onslaught, eyes focused and steady. (Luke) Somehow, the Jedi occupants inside of the office had gotten wind of the flash-bang before it had ever been thrown, as it would be impossible for so many people to prepare themselves in the short duration from when the cooked grenade had been thrown to when the fuse finally expired a second later. Regardless of how, this does not bode well for the Stormtroopers, but it's too late for them to turn back now, regardless of their families, and regardless of their own lives. Though many had not chosen to serve in the Legions, nonetheless each is expected to fight, and knows all too well what would happen if they refused to follow orders. What will, in fact, happen if they refuse to fight. Estos quickly finds that his gas grenade won't help too much in covering the escape at all, as the ventilation systems in the hallway begin to spread the tear gas around the floor, and while it does go fairly high into the air near the grenade itself, nowhere exists for a man at full height to truly disappear. Regardless, in the Stormtroopers flow, as the first two inside move to the side and begin firing once they reach their respective walls. Several more flood in behind them, and form something of a five man diamond in the doorway, with the two in front kneeling, and the three to the rear all standing and letting loose with their ST-II blaster rifles. (ST-9049) Dropping down to one knee, Lynae crouches in the evaporating smoke from the grenade and takes aim with her blaster. While not an expert marksman like the elite soldiers, she has a decent ratio for hitting what she aims at. And this she does, taking aim on the Jedi in the doorway, adding her fire to that of the troopers. Johanna turns back upon Tibor, and kicks the guard’s head with a simple motion of her boot, knocking him cold for a while. She then turns and faces the last standing Royal Guardsman, ready to defend against him. The lightsaber, guided by the Force, swings once to deflect two blasts from the new arrivals. One blast flies up into the ceiling, the other is deflected to strike the trooper in the chest. (Luke) With Tibor out of commission, Kyrin reaches forward and snatches up his blaster and starts firing with all the accuracy of a trained entity. She keeps her wings very close to her body, able to more properly fold them around her now that she's not got those funky decorative bands on her wingspars. Her shots seem to be tracking toward the Stormtroopers, but she scowls when she realizes that Danik got away and she couldn't give him a blaster bolt in the head for an early birthday present. "Lucky I installed this thing." The secret passage took Kreldin from his Jedi-infested office around to the auditorium hall. Arriving haggard looking, Danik watches as Imperial stormtroopers begin to swarm into the auditorium to back up the advance units, should they fail to capture the Jedi. Which they likely will. "Four targets: three Jedi, one civilian. HIGHLY dangerous, do not hesitate to open fire. Don't worry about causing any damage to the ship, use WHATEVER means necessary, gentlemen," Danik shouts to the stormtroopers in the auditorium as he makes his way over to the commander. Kreldin looks irritated, having been fooled by Skywalker with the artifact trick. Well, he let himself be fooled, really. He should have known it was just more Jedi treachery. Can't he just catch a break with the Jedi? Sighing, Danik wonders how Malign and Vadim would react, should Skywalker and the rest escape. His rage is past the boiling point, and is spilling out into the auditorium. So much, in fact, that it causes the stormtrooper commander to take a few steps back from the Grand Admiral. "Where's our heavy equipment, Commander? E-webs? Thermals? I don't care how much damage it may cause to the ship, use them!" he shouts, grabbing the commander by the shoulder and gripping tightly. "Just -kill- them." The klaxons throughout the ship continue to roar, alerting all hands to the dangers going on. Escaping from the Malevolence is not going to be easy. Kreldin will make sure of that. (Danik) The lightsaber is truly a dangerous, deadly device. It can also be a device of mercy. In holo chess, there are moments where you should wait out your opponent. Then there are moments where you strike. For the Jedi, the time to strike has come. Luke, Johanna, and Ai'kani are in complete symmetry with each other, their minds in harmony with the Force, and thus, their power and capabilities shared, strengthened. Their minds work as one, and what one person may think, the others know it in that instant, as if the thought were their own. A simple thought is sent to Ai'kani: get Brandis to Kyrin, and defend them. A flash of a moment later, a thought sent to Johanna: Speed. In that moment, the four Stormtroopers blocking the exit open fire, and Luke responds with a brilliant display of Soresu defenses. Blade aimed forward, the blasts are deflected into the deck, where superheated specks of durasteel and black smoke fly up in response. He advances while deflecting the blasts into the ground, then follows through by raising the blade and, with a single arc, deflects a spray of blaster fire right back into the Stormtroopers, felling them all in a mere moment. He follows the gesture with a Force-powered leap into the air, flashing back to teachings he's learned from Yoda, the Ataru master. The lightsaber twirls about behind him as he tucks into a somersault, soaring over the falling Stormtroopers and landing in the hallway beyond, blade rising once more and prepared to defend against the next onslaught. Ai'kani is dealing with the last remaining Royal Guard. With them in between her and the door full of opponent's, it provides her cover from the barrage. It's almost as if Ai'kani is buying some time as she fights the guard with his Force Pike. She breaks into action and calmly separates the Guard's hands from his wrists. It is the best way to disarm a person without... um.. dis-arming them. Rushing past the falling Guard, Ai'kani goes behind where Luke is deflecting bolts and to Brandis. Deactivating her saber, she pulls the man's arm around her neck and makes it over to Kyrin; wondering if any of them are able to carry the deadweight Jedi. Johanna's response to the message from Luke is swift and efficient. The Force is drawn into her hand and she thrusts forward toward the disoriented guard, sending a shock of power through the Guard's body and pushing him into sub consciousness. The lightsaber in her hand swings about and she heads with brisk steps for the doorway, using the Force to clear away the dead and unconscious Stormtrooper bodies with a brisk movement of her hand. (Luke) "Here we go again..." Standing partially down the hallway with another group of Stormtroopers on his own, Dareus definitely wonders how just himself can have to deal with Jedi so many times already. Oh well. "Beta Squad, hold positions, and DO NOT LET THEM BY!" He crouches the same as several other units do, looking like white wall of blasters pointed towards the door, still holding position until they are all in a clear view to annihilate. As the hallways is slightly illuminated by the lightsabers moving, the young Lieutenant checks his ST-I and re-cocks the action, announcing his final order to his men before all hell breaks loose, "You heard the Admiral. Kill anything that isn't Imperial...or die trying to do so..." Some of the men open fire as each one moves into view, but Dareus holds until he has a better shot, or hopefully a distraction that won't send his blaster bolt back to his own face. While no one has a chance to correct Danik verbally, it's quickly apparent that Kyrin is no civilian. Calm under fire, she scrambles under the opposing fire to scoop up a second blaster. And then to recover her wingbands. They're just artifacts of her lost home, but still hers. Clapping them back into place, she maneuvers toward Brandis, who might be a Jedi, but he's one seriously beat-up Jedi and could use more defenders. The stormtroopers who can see her can quickly identify that she's certainly trained in proper fire control so she doesn't accidentally send a bit of not-so-friendly fire at a friendly face or backside. When Ai'kani reaches her and Brandis, all she does is give the other a glance. Nothing through the Force. Just a simple expression: I'll carry him. And then she reaches to try and pull Brandis up to her back, intending on looping his arms around her neck and carrying him on her back between her wings. Like a black liquid dripping from an unknown source, Malign's black, cloaked figure collects behind Danik, silently and with ease. His dark presence, already pouring over the general area with him and his would be apprentice. It would take an idiot not to recognize that there was something very bad happening on the Emperor's personal destroyer, but as always his presence was masked, distant, silently observing. His minions, the mundane and weak made to suffer for their own existence. His senses pierce the hull of the vessel following paths and contemplating what they could do even as his words take a different direction to mock and lash at the Grand Admiral's ego. "Haven't you ever learned, when you play with fire, you are no doubt going to be burned. You are pathetic, running away from the enemy to let those weaker than you die for some mocked honor. You sicken me, Danik Kreldin. You are no Sith, and certainly are no warrior." Malign says his own anger apparent in his words as he pushes up to walk beside the Admiral, "Run, run you little child, lock yourself in the closet and let those die around you. Even the Sith must know when to make deals, and understand the consequences of our own attempts to be devious. You are blinded by ignorant ambition and that is why you will fail and that is why you will never be as powerful as a true Sith." Malign pulls a comlink from his belt, "It is clear to me that the Jedi are moving to the hangar bay and I have a very good understanding of their desired direction and location. Lock down sections on deck 70 and 69. Use my personal guard, deactivate all heating and lighting on those levels and sections." He says darkly. The black, armored stealthy individuals that constantly hide in the shadows around their master move through the halls and prepare to set up an ambush. The Jedi were powerful but perhaps if the area became difficult to work in physically his armored and non-living guards would do the trick in freezing cold and darkness, the true home of the Sith spirit. (Tyler) The auditorium is right outside the hallway leading to Kreldin's office. The sound of blaster fire is easily heard, and the screams, shouting and orders being transmitted via the built-in comlinks within the helmets of the stormtroopers is picked up by all the stormtroopers within the auditorium. It's certainly not helping calm their nerves. "They're still human. They can bleed, they can die. You men are Imperial Stormtroopers: nothing can stop you, remember that!" Danik shouts throughout the auditorium, resting his hand on the hilt of his Corellian Rapier. He knows full well the capabilities of the Jedi, especially Skywalker. Although Danik didn't admit it in the office, Luke has much of his father in him, indeed. And that is what scares him the most. Although he has been training himself to use fear to his advantage, rather than allow it to hinder him, he finds it difficult to maintain his bearing before the situation at hand. He can handle one Jedi at a time. But three, including their Master, is well... a bit too much for the apprentice Sith. Fortunately, though, Danik can feel the presence of his Master nearby. Master Malign. It allows him to relax some - until that presence finds itself right behind him. An angry presence. An angry presence at him. He turns around to face his Master as he begins to scold him. The words penetrate straight through to his very core, and rattle him like never before. How dare he? His rage intensifies to new heights, and the urge to just kill Malign right there and then emerges within him. "You no good trash!" he shouts, quickly grabbing his Rapier from his sheath. Moments after, he takes a swipe at Malign. "Get him!" This brings some confusion to the troopers. While not entirely unfamiliar with Malign, the Stormtroopers were under Danik's command here. The two nearest stormtroopers turn about and level their rifles on Malign as Danik attacks, though hesitate, still confused about what's going on. (Danik) The confusion is apparent in the way a couple of the Stormtroopers set up in the hall under Dareus' command falter. Luke takes another step toward them, twirling his lightsaber in what would seem is a mere show, but is in fact part of the Ataru art of utilizing your lightsaber to enhance the focus of your mind in the flow of the Force. Once shots start to come, the blade begins whirling about, deflecting the first few straight back at the attackers and killing them. He then switches fluidly into the Soresu defenses: quick, minute, swift motions which evenly send blaster bolts back at their attackers and up toward the ceiling, causing a slight rain of debris he intends to use as a distraction. Through harmony, a simple instruction is sent to the pair of Jedi women who are just about to move out of the room behind him, escorting the Chyleni who now carries Brandis over her back. The simple instruction indicates an area on the left wall, near the floor. Through the Force, it is clear to the trio of unified Jedi that this is their escape route, and of course, a lightsaber is a quick way to make a doorway. A single fragmentation grenade, thrown by a Stormtrooper, is sent soaring in the opposite direction by a quick thrust of Skywalker's hand over the hilt of his lightsaber. The grenade soars into the entrance of the auditorium beyond where it explodes, causing even more confusion. (Luke) Passing Brandis off to Kyrin, Ai'kani's blade snaps to life as she remains back in a protective stance. Her head tilts up gently to the sense of something very strong. "Master," is all she says, but in her words is a full explanation. There is a strong presence of anger and violence that seems to eclipse the negative vibrations around them. Something is about to happen that is going to make thing much harder for them. As Luke clears the path, Ai'kani starts to pick up pace. 'We must hurry and get to the ship.' Taking the cue from her Master, Johanna rushes on the left wall and begins slashing a wide arc with her white lightsaber. She keeps her eyes on Kyrin, judging the right size to make the hole so she and Brandis can get through. Finishing with the swift cut, she kicks open a hole in the wall, the edges of which glow red. Following this, in she goes, disappearing into darkness. (Luke) As the fragmentation grenade explodes, sending pieces of the durasteel plating everywhere, Dareus doesn't even falter, but actually kicks a few of his stormtroopers, urging them forward. Seeing that enough of this crap has passed, he levels his blaster as he stands up tall, adjacent with the units on his right and left side, "Fire at will. I want that lightsaber hanging on my wall..." The order easily echoes through the comlinks of his stormtroopers helmets, as the whole unit begins to move forward. As his own blaster begins to open up towards the trio, Dareus' blaster falters, and stops for a moment, tapping his headset with one finger, wondering what the hell Danik just ordered. Immediately, he shrugs it off, "Move on, ignore that order until we know what the hell that was..." The blaster returns level, but the Lieutenant is also careful to basically lay down covering fire for his men, knowing full well a direct shot at Skywalker would end with a swift motion, and a medal laid in Dareus' own coffin. Like hell that will happen today. Kyrin makes things easier because she can crouch and nearly run on all fours. Such an alien animalistic thing to do. But she does it anyway. Anything to help the Jedi with her cut their escape time down. With both of her stolen blasters fitting uncomfortably into the formerly-empty holsters on her hips, she darts in after Johanna, then promptly pulls her belt off, tying Brandis' wrists together around her neck, making the poor unconscious Jedi almost like a sickening cloak of some kind, tied around a kid's neck with a biiiig knot. Chokehold, but it frees up her own hands, and she pulls both blasters, ready to fire them as soon as she finds a nice target. Or five. Malign was fast, very fast. The blade moved like lightning as Danik swings it at his Master, but as the dust clears the blade had done little damage. The Sith Lord was on one knee with his right arm raised up, black, gloved hand holding the blade above before it could do any serious damage to him. Crimson blood begins to roll down the blade collecting around the hilt and dropping to the ground. Anger turns to amusement as Malign rises back to his full height not releasing the blade. His hazel eyes stare right into the Grand Admiral, "Where was this when you were fighting the Jedi? This aggression and hatred could do you well in combat with them. Remember, the Dark Side of the force relies on your hatred, your rage, and aggression to make you powerful, use them correctly and you will overcome any enemy, and any Jedi." His words were sharp and cold lashing out at his apprentice, but in them was a lesson a very basic and raw lesson. Danik would learn to think and act like a Sith he could become a warrior, he was old and it would take more time to adjust him to the appropriate way of thinking, but once the door was open, great things would happen for him. Klaxons begin to ring as Malign's orders are executed below, "Admiral, give the Jedi the free path to the decks I have specified, there they will meet the unseen terror of our might." The Sith releases the blade and licks some of the blood from his hand in a primal display of strength. "There is no longer a question of stopping them, there is only making them suffer, do not worry about the mundane boundaries of life and death, the Sith strive for immortality and strive for the eternal suffering of their enemies." Decks 70 and 69 were evacuated of personnel; suddenly standard atmospheric controls deactivate allowing the cold of space to penetrate the rooms as the lighting is then slowly deactivated section-by-section slipping the decks into total darkness. As the darkness begins to fill the areas, Malign's personal guard fills the void wielding strange and exotic weapons from flamethrowers, to throwing knives. They slip into the shadows finding hooks and outcroppings in hallways, some moving along the ceilings using magnetic gloves and boots, like spiders. They were a terrifying troop to any normal assault team, but perhaps only a mild deterrent for Jedi. Malign pulls his cloak from his body to reveal a suit of black armor to protect him from the ever steadily growing hostile environment, "We will haunt these Jedi my apprentice." He says darkly, "We will meet them at every corner if only for a second." A pair of his guard emerges between him and the Storm Troopers to defend against their blaster bolts and throw down an extra suit of armor made for Danik, "Order all your soldiers to pursue the Jedi. Have them appropriately suit up." (Tyler) "Er.." That's all Danik can manage to utter as he watches his blade stop into Malign's hand. At least he sees blood. And that lets him know Malign isn't invincible. Before he can pull back and take another swipe, however, he hears the laugh. But Kreldin does not offer any response; he merely listens, like a good student. It is true, Kreldin is old and meshed in with the traditional form of warfare taught to him over four decades. Slowly but surely, though, it is coming undone, and the Sith teachings are sliding in its place. Slowly nodding his head, Kreldin draws his sword back and returns it to its sheath. "Yes, my Master.." Taking in the lesson well, Kreldin takes the suit of armor to wear for himself and equips it. "Stormtroopers are already appropriately suited up, Master. They always are," he says, then turning to his commander. "Order all units to pursue the Jedi. We'll be waiting for them on decks 70 and 69, as per Master Malign's orders." Danik, now equipped in the combat armor, looks back to his master and nods. "I'm ready." Luke backs up as Ai'kani drops into the hole behind Johanna and Kyrin. Two more swings with his lightsaber send bolts of plasma back to their targets. He then reaches out with one hand, disengages his lightsaber, and makes a harsh yanking motion. Out from one of the Stormtrooper's belts comes another fragmentation grenade, alive and ticking. Time seems to slow down as Luke turns and dives into the hole, following the Chyleni and the Jedi into a ventilation shaft that drops down a level and heads aft. As the Jedi and Kyrin run aftward, the thermal detonator chases, released by the Force to fall and clatter to a stop a meter away from the hole. The explosion that comes afterward causes the hole and parts of the wall to buckle and cave in, raining debris and smoke down into the ventilation shaft but also cutting the Stormtroopers off from the Jedi escape route. However, the looming danger sensed by the trio through the Force is only growing thicker by the moment. "Be on your guard," instructs Luke, verbally, as they reach the end of the horizontal tunnel, which turns and starts going straight down. Johanna is first down the ladder, and the others follow, climbing down until they reach level 70. As they go, Luke offers more instructions. "The dark side is strong at work. We will need to raise our defenses, and keep Kyrin inside those defenses. We are one, we are in harmony, our minds and powers are shared. Do not let that harmony falter, or this will be the end of our time in this realm of flesh." Finally, the Jedi reach the bottom, where a simple hatchway, frosted over on this edge, will allow them access to deck 70. Beyond, not far, an observation area that can be used to breach to deck 69, and a turbolift bank that the Force will guide them to as their way out. There is a moment of hesitation as Luke beckons his fellow Jedi to draw the Force in, surrounding them, penetrating them. Then, with the power augmented by his friends, Luke begins to resonate the particles of air around him to generate heat. A nod of his head, and Johanna opens the hatchway, letting a gust of frozen air swarm into and fill the ventilation shaft. Luke braces himself to weather the rush of air, the resonating shield around them humming with energy as life-giving heat surrounds them. Once it calms down, they follow Johanna into the dark hallway beyond, igniting their lightsabers to provide multi-colored illumination. (Luke) Following all the way to the hatch, Ai'kani frowns gently. "Danik isn't alone anymore," she says quietly. That much is apparent with the falling of lights and the lowering of temperatures. Pausing at the hatch, Ai'kani braces herself as the rush of cold strikes them. Moving along with a bubble of Force Heat, a bunch of Technicolor glow stick weapons, and one partied-out Jedi the troupe move forward into what is surely more trouble. Needing her hands again to climb, given there's not enough room for her to glide, Kyrin reholsters the blasters and just resettles Brandis to make him a better load for her. Aware that the Jedi are doing their best to protect her and their unconscious compatriot, she makes a point to remain in the center of their formation, keeping Brandis's various limbs within their sphere of influence. Continued in part four.